When I got the invitation by email a few weeks ago, I was kind of on the fence. You are cordially invited to this year's service awards! Celebrating employees with 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 years of service.
With 25 years, I am on the low end of that spectrum, and award shindigs are not really my thing. A colleague who received the same invitation was more enthusiastic, and she encouraged me to go. My friend Mary, also on the list, was not inclined to attend. Undecided, I promptly forgot about the whole thing.
Today I had a few minutes of time between classes and meetings, and since the sun was shining, I decided to take a quick walk. We share our campus with a county park, and the paved path that circles the 2 soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, and baseball diamond is about a half mile. Walking the loop, I found sky blue sharpie and a well-used baseball.
Pocketing the marker I continued on, tossing the ball from hand to hand. My mind wandered as I walked and I thought of the many times I had tread this trail over the past 25 years. How could it be so unchanged?
The path was lined with maple, oak, red bud, and crape myrtle. I figured that even the slowest growing of those adds a foot to its height each year, and I stopped, looked around, did a little math, and considered the way ahead.
Back in the building, my friend Mary reminded me of the service awards deadline. Without hesitation, I RSVPed 'yes' to the ceremony, and got Mary to agree to go, too.
With 25 years, I am on the low end of that spectrum, and award shindigs are not really my thing. A colleague who received the same invitation was more enthusiastic, and she encouraged me to go. My friend Mary, also on the list, was not inclined to attend. Undecided, I promptly forgot about the whole thing.
Today I had a few minutes of time between classes and meetings, and since the sun was shining, I decided to take a quick walk. We share our campus with a county park, and the paved path that circles the 2 soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, and baseball diamond is about a half mile. Walking the loop, I found sky blue sharpie and a well-used baseball.
Pocketing the marker I continued on, tossing the ball from hand to hand. My mind wandered as I walked and I thought of the many times I had tread this trail over the past 25 years. How could it be so unchanged?
The path was lined with maple, oak, red bud, and crape myrtle. I figured that even the slowest growing of those adds a foot to its height each year, and I stopped, looked around, did a little math, and considered the way ahead.
Back in the building, my friend Mary reminded me of the service awards deadline. Without hesitation, I RSVPed 'yes' to the ceremony, and got Mary to agree to go, too.
That Mary sounds like a real pushover.
ReplyDeleteI love the detail here... a sky blue sharpie and a well-used baseball. But, what makes the detail even better is the way you move the story along by incorporating the objects "pocketing the marker and tossing the ball from hand to hand. Lovely.
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